Archive for April, 2010

Although our final research lesson of the semester was scheduled to be on politics and elections, we’re scrapping that next week in favor of something different.

We’ll justify this with Wayne Svoboda’s allowance for “maneuver journalism,” which gives Craft profs the leeway to reshape the syllabus based on what we think is most valuable to you at the moment.

So while I’ll admit politics and elections might be a more valuable research lesson in the grand scheme, your current profs recognize that spring is not prime election season, and right now you’re working on a stimulus project, with a research quiz soon to follow. That in mind, we’ll kill two birds with one stone next week and assign an in-class stimulus-related research exercise very similar in design to the upcoming quiz.

Come prepared, thank us later, complain about us to Wayne, whatever. Just remember I invoked the phrase “maneuver journalism.”

With many courts at the federal, state and local levels, there is no “one stop shopping” for court research. In most cases, you’ll need to know the jurisdiction before you can find anything.

In many jurisdictions, particularly at the local levels, case information isn’t online at all. For those cases, you have no choice but to visit the courthouse or contact the court clerk to get info (unless you can get it from participating lawyers).

Of the courts that do have case information online, there’s no uniformity. Some post full case documents. Others provide only basic docket information. And many times, you’ll have to use a fee-based service to get the info.

Due to your court visit Tuesday, the court research lesson originally scheduled for this week has been pushed back to Wednesday, April 28th. I’m also aware the visit precluded you from attending the Facts on File research clinic, which was unfortunate.

First and foremost, a reminder about next week’s research clinics offered by the Research Center. I highly recommend attending, especially the Facts on File session Tuesday at 12:30. It will be worth your while, guaranteed.

From the byline congratulations department, Danny Gold’s story about crime plaguing a senior citizens housing development in Brooklyn made City Limits.

As for my own work, if you heard me mention my “manual labor” during our break in class last week, I was talking about my trip to New Orleans last month. Photos and a story are here.

Educational bonus: In case you missed it, Alan Schwarz of the New York Times did some great enterprise work last week. Stories here, here, here and here. Also, here is some stinky, but good, enterprise reporting from AM New York.

The Census Bureau has one of the most valuable and densely-packed web sites you’ll encounter. Like NYC.gov, it seems you’ll constantly find new information there that will amaze you with its obscurity and level of detail. Below are some of my favorite Census Bureau pages, with thanks to fellow research colleague Barbara Oliver for her assistance.

First and foremost is the American FactFinder, which includes fast access to fact sheets for your community, as well as annual American Community Survey data. The latter provides the best place to get estimates since the last decennial census was undertaken in 2000. You definitely should familiarize yourself with how to navigate this!

The Statistical Abstract is the authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States. Note that past years of the publication are also available.

Facts for Features & Special Editions consist of collections of statistics from the Census Bureau’s demographic and economic subject areas intended to commemorate anniversaries or observances or to provide background information for topics in the news.